Publication Ethics

Role and Duties of the Journal Owner

1.  ASEAN Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine (ASEAN J Rehabil Med) is owned and sponsored by the Thai Rehabilitation Medicine Association (TRMA). The owner, the editor, the editorial board members, and the advisory committee, as well as reviewers and authors, should follow the ethical guidelines of a peer-reviewed medical journal as follows, based on the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf) 

2.  The executive committees of the TRMA regularly monitor the editor's performance during the executive meetings. They would only dismiss the editor for some substantial reasons, such as scientific misconduct, inadequate performance, and inappropriate behavior. It is a policy that the advertisement of any sponsor supporting the journal should only be on the back cover of the printed journal.

3.  The executive committees of the TRMA declare that there are no article processing charges or submission fees for any submitted or accepted articles.

Roles and Duties of Editor

1.  The chief editor works under the guidance of the policies of the Executive committees of the TRMA and regularly reports the Journal's progress and relevant issues at the executive and annual general meetings.

2.  The chief editor is responsible for selecting quality manuscripts to be published.

3.  The chief editor shall delegate decision-making to one of the associate editors when the editor or colleagues have written a research manuscript.

4.  The chief editor uses the journal's electronic submission system for all journal communications and checks for plagiarism and copyright infringement to ensure transparency in the process.

5.  The chief editor shall select three suitable reviewers from the editorial board and external reviewers. The reviewers have expertise in the relevant field of the submitted article and do not have a conflict of interest to ensure that a peer review process is fair and unbiased.

6.  The editor shall protect the confidentiality of all materials submitted to the journal, all communications with reviewers and authors, and the reviewers' identities, as the journal process of peer review is double-blinded.

7.  The editor shall promptly respond to any notification from the authors or a third party about significant errors found in journal articles. In addition, the editor accepts any complaint regarding publication processes. 

8.  The editor shall regularly review any research, publication, reviewer, and editorial misconduct. Any identified misconduct is subject to investigation by the Editorial Board of the ASEAN J Rehabil Med. All misconduct and breach of publication ethics, irrespective of the extent thereof, may result in retraction, publication of formal notice of the misconduct, and formal embargo on future contributions to the journal.  ASEAN J Rehabil Med follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for handling allegations of publishing misconduct pre- and post-publication (www.publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts). 

Roles and Duties of Reviewers

1.  All invited internal and external reviewers shall be informed to follow the journal policy of publishing quality medical research, innovation, review articles, and interesting case reports and case series. The peer review process is a critical assessment of manuscripts submitted to the journal, aiming to help authors and the editor improve the quality of the publication.

2.  The invited reviewers can accept or decline the invitation. If there is a conflict, one should decline the invitation. When one accepts to be a peer reviewer, he/she should critically assess the manuscript using the journal criteria for review without personal bias and submit the review with constructive comments and within the timeframe.

3.  The invited reviewers should refrain from suggesting that the authors include the reviewers' works to increase the reviewers' citation count but can do so only for a genuine scientific reason.

4.  The invited reviewers shall treat all reviewed documents/materials confidential and not directly contact the authors unless the editor gives permission.

5.  The invited reviewers must not use a submitted manuscript and its unpublished materials disclosed in their own research without the written consent of the authors. After submitting their reviews, the reviewers must destroy paper copies of manuscripts and delete electronic copies.

6.  The invited reviewers shall be asked for permission when the editor considers sharing reviewers' comments with co-reviewers of the same paper to enhance learning from each other.

Roles and Duties of Authors

1.  Authors should follow the journal formats when preparing a manuscript and presenting with accurate data, sufficient details and references, and correct interpretation without bias. Inaccurate statements are unacceptable and unethical.

2.  Authors should be aware of plagiarism of another's work and self-plagiarism of one own work, which is unethical and unacceptable. Works or words of others should be appropriately cited or quoted, and permission should be received when necessary.

3. All authors are fully responsible for the originality and contents of their submitted manuscripts. All records and data presented in the manuscripts must be accurate and free of research misconduct, such as fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or any other research or publication misconduct. 

4.  When reporting on research that involves human subjects, human material, human tissues, or human data, approval from the local institutional review board (IRB) or other appropriate ethics committees must be obtained before undertaking the research.

5.  Authors should be concerned about authorship, which is limited to those who have contributed significantly to the conception, design, execution, interpretation, writing, and approval of the manuscript. Therefore, only those with substantial contributions should be listed as co-authors, and others, including research funder/supporters, should be acknowledged in the acknowledgment section.

6.  Authors should disclose any potential conflict of interest or financial and personal relationships with others that could influence the submitted work in the disclosure section.

7.  Authors should write a cover letter to the editor confirming that the submitted manuscript is original and has not been published or submitted to another journal.

8.  A corresponding author should be responsible for online submission, revising according to peer reviewers' suggestions, communicating with the editor during and after the publication process, and promptly responding to editorial queries.

9.  Authors should promptly notify the editor of a significant error or inaccuracy found in their published article so that the editor can do whatever is necessary, such as correcting or retracting the article.

10. Authors should contact the chief editor or the president of the TRMA to appeal against the editorial decision.

Ethical Concerns in Human Subjects Research